Tag: Scottish Bloggers

Since I’ve started wearing my hair natural more often, I’ve done a lot of research into how to keep my hair healthy. The majority of the advice I’ve found is that conditioning is the go to for curly hair- so I invested in various hair masks to try and soften and hydrate my locks. I wanted to know what the best shampoo was to use for curly- and coloured hair, and I stumbled across rave reviews on Low Shampoo.

Low Shampoo is sulphate free (=no foam) which gently cleanses hair, removes impurities and conditions in one step. Sounds brilliant right? The product states that you should use this 1-2 x per week in place of your current hair care routine, however I’ll admit I’ve been using it a bit more.

The Low Shampoo I purchased and have been using religiously is the L’Oreal Elvive Colour Protect Low Shampoo.

To use this product you apply 10-15 pumps (yep this sounds like a lot, but you get a fair amount of product in the bottle) from your roots to the ends of your hair. I massage the shampoo into my scalp and rest of my hair to ensure I get a good clean. I them leave it on for about 3 minutes while I do the rest of my shower routine. After a few minutes I rinse my hair thoroughly, and style my hair as I normally would.

I’ve found that after using this product my hair feels clean however very conditioned. I’ve been finding my hair hasn’t been feeling as greasy as it usually has been when I used ordinary shampoo and conditioner. I’m currently on my second bottle and still really enjoying using the product.

I feel that this product works very well for naturally curly hair, as it deeply conditions the curls without making it too greasy or drying it out, which equals frizz!

When I first head of the Nintendo Switch console I was very curious about what it could offer. I loved the Nintendo DS and Wii U, so the idea of a hybrid of these two consoles sounded brilliant.

The Nintendo Switch is a portable console, so you can game wherever you’d like to, but it can also easily be played in the comfort of your own home on the TV.

The Switch is a 6.2 inch tablet, with a stunning display. It has two removable joy-con controller, which can be used solo or split for local multiplayer gaming. Since the Nintendo Switch can be played on the tablet or the TV, it comes with the Switch Dock, which charges the device and connects the Switch to the TV. You also get the Joy-Con Grip, which connects the Right and Left Joy-Con controllers together, so you can use them like a traditional controller- which is great for single player Mario Kart! You will also get an HDMI cable and a power cord.

The Switch tablet is touch screen, and I have found the display brilliant for games. You can also use the Switch tablet in table top mode, where you can flip the kick stand up and use it as a mini screen if you don’t want to use it as a hand held device. At 6.2 inches the Switch is very portable, which is what made the console appealing to myself. You can purchase various Nintendo carrying cases for the console to protect it.

Connecting the Switch to the TV is very easy. You simply slide the console into the charging dock until it ‘clicks’ and the display from the console is transferred onto the TV. I love using the TV display for playing multi-player games.

The battery life is acceptable for the Switch. A full charge can give around 3 hours of gaming, which is good enough for commuting or playing around the house. It charges quite quickly as well, which is a plus.

I was slightly reluctant before buying the Switch, as there wasn’t a large variety of games available on the platform at the time. However Nintendo has announced a few more games set to be released soon. I can’t wait to play Splatoon 2- which was so much fun when playing the live demo-, Mine Craft (who doesn’t want portable Mine Craft?), Skyrim, and Super Mario Odyssey!

At the moment I have been playing a bit too much Mario Kart- However I’ll admit I do get a little bit competitive.. But it is such a fun game, especially with friends! I have also been playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I was never a big fan of the Zelda franchise, but I’ve really been enjoying this one. It has such an open world that you can explore for hours, and the story really is very immersive. I would definitely recommend it.

I’m all for trying out new products, especially when it comes to mascara. I’m always on the hunt for a new product to top my favourite Benefit They’re Real- preferably one that’s cheaper too!

L’Oréal’s marketing campaign for this mascara was brilliant. Every time I popped onto my Facebook or Insta, they’re was an advert for the product. I loved how they used bloggers like Just Jodes as well.

The mascara claims to give mega volume, curl and hold all day. They have a selection of colours to choose from as well; black, black waterproof, indigo, lilac, and teal. I’ll be honest, I’m not one for bright makeup so I went for black (boring I know!).

Packaging:

I love the packaging for this mascara, I think it is very simple yet eye catching! The pastel pink and mint green instantly caught my eye when I was browsing the makeup aisles in Boots.

Brush:

A mascara wand is the most important thing for me. I normally like thinner wands that make it easier to catch and coat each lash. I also prefer silicone type wands over the classic brush style. The Miss Baby Roll wand is made of silicone, however has a larger round barrell shape, I think this makes it easier to achieve more volume for your lashes. I found this made the application of the mascara trickier, as I kept on getting specks of the product on my eyelid (maybe I might just need more practice!)

Product & Application:

I liked the consistency of the product, I felt that it didn’t clump, even when I applied to layers- hurray!

I found that the mascara definitely gave more volume to my lashes which I loved, and I found the results very similar to that when using the Benefit Roller Lash, however the roller lash was a little bit more defined.

Wear:

Like the majority of mascara that I wear I always find it was fade and run down to my lower lash line throughout the day. This happened with the Baby Roll as well. But I did expect this.

Removal:

Since I didn’t get the waterproof version, I found the mascara very easy to remove. I usually use a makeup wipe to initially remove the product, and then wash my face with cleanser and a wash cloth.

I got a little creative yesterday in the kitchen after splurging on all things Cadbury and Easter related! I love making tray bakes, and so I thought I would put an Easter twist on the classic Millionaire Shortbread.

Here is what you’ll need:

Easter chocolates- I used Cream Eggs and Mini Eggs (my favourite!)

1/2 bar salted butter

126g shortbread biscuits (You could also choose to make your own shortbread if you like for the base)

300g milk chocolate

100g white chocolate

1 tin condensed milk

1 tbsp soft brown sugar

Method:

Line a baking tray with grease-proof paper.

Using either a food processor, or a good old rolling pin and plastic bag, break up the shortbread until there are no large chunks.

Melt the butter and mix into the crushed shortbread until well combined, and placed into the baking tray and flatten with a spoon.

To make the caramel, pour the condensed milk and brown sugar into a pot over heat, and stir with a wooden spoon constantly until thickened. Pour the caramel over the shortbread and smooth out.

Allow caramel to cool and set before adding the chocolate.

Melt the milk and white chocolate (I use a microwave, however you can use a bowl over boiling water), and pour over the caramel layer.

Next up is the fun part! Before the chocolate is set, drop a couple of hand fulls of Mini Eggs over the chocolate, followed by a few cut up Cream Eggs. Decorate this part however you like!

When I was younger, Benefit was the first ‘high end’ makeup brand that I tried. It all started with the Boi-Ing Concealer, a pretty heavy duty product that banishes those dark circles. From that I was hooked, and slowly I branched out and fell in love with their products. Today I’ll be chatting about my favourite Benefit makeup products that are tried and tested and always make an appearance in my makeup routine.

Dandelion

Roller Lash

Watt’s Up!

Lemon Aid

Goof Proof Brow Pencil

Dandelion was one of the first blushers I fell in love with. Although Benefit describes this product as a brightening face powder that can be used on cheeks as a soft blush or swept all over the face to brighten your complexion, I tend to only use this as a highlighting blusher. It is a ballerina pink colour that adds a dusting of colour. I find it really complements my skin tone as well.

Although Benefit’s They’re Real Lengthening Mascara is in my top all time favourite mascaras, it came a close second to Benefit’s Roller Lash! Roller Lash is a lengthening and curling mascara in one. I think the idea behind this mascara was to banish the need for lash curler prior to application of the mascara- which means time saving which I’m all about! I love mascaras with delicate rubber applicators, and I find this brush is perfect for grabbing, separating and lifting my lashes. It is also water resistant, and I find I don’t get that smudging around my lower lash line that I often get with other mascaras. Over all Roller Lash works very well for my lashes, it’s very easy to apply and gives an amazing curl.

The Watt’s Up! Cream highlighter is a gorgeous champagne soft focus highlighter that I find complements and adds dimension to my face. It’s very easy to apply and blend out. Benefit says it has a ‘cream to powder finish’. I use this highlighter over top of my foundation and blend with my Beauty Blender, or on a bare face when I just want a little glow.

I’m going to be honest with you all, I rarely use an eyelid primer! Yes I know it adds longevity to your eye shadow and allows the colour to be more pigmented, but truth is I either don’t have time or I forget. I have however tried various eyelid primers and Benefit’s Lemon Aid is hands down my favourite. This eyelid primer colour corrects, which I really like as my eyelids tend to be quite red. The warm yellow tones in this primer really does cancel out any redness and evens out discolouration. I’ll pop some of the primer on with my ring finger and blend out before applying eyeshadow, I like how gives a good base so that not only the eye shadow is applied evenly, but it allows the eye look to last longer. However, sometimes I’ll just leave the primer on it’s own, I find it brightens up my eye area and makes me look more awake!

Last, but not least, is Benefit’s Goof Proof Eyebrow Pencil. Apart from tinted brow mascaras, this is the first proper brow pencil I have used. My brows are quite thick and dark so I never felt the need to fill them in. However, I thought I would give it a go for extending the tail of my brow or evening them out. My Sister recomended this product to me and I’m so glad she did. The angled, no sharpen tip glides on almost effortlessly so it really is ‘goof proof’. I love the built in spoolie so handy and perfect for blending in the product too.

I love Bourjois’ products, I think that their range is brilliant for natural classic makeup. I’m a big fan of their Healthy Mix Serum Foundation, and when I saw their Happy Light Foundation I thought I would give it a try. I love natural, dewy makeup and I’m all over a foundation that offers this.

Bourjois claims that the Happy Light foundation “gives a luminous and flawless complexion in any light. Its translucent pigments correct without masking giving your complexion a flawless radiance. Its supple texture glides smoothly onto the skin for a flawless complexion with no caking.”

On first appearance I loved everything about the packaging. The cute smile logo is perfect, and I love the colours on the bottle. I love foundations that come with a built in pump (= practical and less mess!) and it’s compact size is perfect for any makeup bag.

I found the range of shades from Bourjois to be spot on, especially for pale skin like myself! As with all Bourjois products it smells lovely.

On application I found the product very runny on application, however it blended out so well! I tried blending with the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush, as well as the Beauty Blender, and got a great result.

I found that the foundation gave a very light coverage, and added more of a tint of colour and a nice glow to my complexion. To combat this I added another layer, and this helped to cover any blemishes and give better coverage. The foundation is build able without ending up looking cakey!

From BB to CC creams, to tinted moisturisers. I got a little bit confused when it came to something lighter to wear as a makeup base. I love foundation, especially when I want a bit of extra coverage, however, I find it can be a bit heavy at times. So when I want a lighter ‘no makeup’ base I like to opt for one of these little beauties…

These 5 creams all work differently, but they all make an appearance at some point in my makeup routine when I’m looking for a natural base.

First up is my old favourite, NIVEA Daily Essentials Tinted Moisturising Day Cream. I’ve used this for years and I still reach for this product. It gives my skin a bit of a boost with moisture, and adds a hint of colour which I feel matches really well. It also has SPF 15 which is an added bonus.

The Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Cream Gel has SPF 30 which is amazing for a tinted moisturiser. I read lots of brilliant reviews and had to try it. The one thing I regret is that I think I bought the product in a shade too dark, but come the Summer time it will match well with a bit of a tan. So I would probably recommend asking the staff at Bare Minerals to match you. The coverage is decent with this product, but like any tinted moisturisers it’s more to give you a tint and a bit of glow.

The Chanel CC Cream was a wonder find for me. A friend recomended it to me last year and I didn’t look back. However, it is highly perfumed so I’d be a bit wary if you have sensitive skin. It gives amazing coverage for a CC cream and conceals redness very well. The one drawback I found is that it dries out my skin slightly on my cheeks, but I still really love the cream. It also has SPF 50! The highest one out of these creams.

The Rimmel BB Cream is a good light coverage base, it has SPF 20 as well, and I find it gives a nice glow to my complexion. I have the shade ‘light’.

I wanted to try L’Oreal’s BB Cream for a long time. I was amazed by how the white cream magically turned into the correct shade for your skin! A little goes a long way with this cream, and it gives good coverage.

These products all differ in texture and coverage, and I find that some work better for my skin when it’s drier, for example in the Winter months, or when it’s doing better and I’m not having a flare up with my eczema. But I love being able to just pop a little bit of the product on to complete a quick natural look!